Desperately Seeking Scarecrow
by Burningbridges
Summary: A few days after the events of Batman Begins, Dr. Crane is wandering around the city when he meets a crying girl who offers to help him, and, in turn, he decides to “help” her. Together they embark on a strange, semi-drug-induced, semi-musical adventure.
1. The Crying Girl

_Yes, I'm aware that there's little going on in this section of Fanfiction right now, but I had to start writing a fic. I've been a life-long Batman fanatic, and so it was bound to happen sooner or later – although the only thing I have ever written about Batman was an essay for my 9__th__ grade English class… Anywho, there's a first time for everything. Just like I have yet to post the Spider-Man story I started when I was still in high school… Jeez. Well, if you know me at all, you'd know I pretty much don't write anything other than Resident Evil fics – that's where you'll find me on this site, making people laugh uncontrollably (according to them). I guess I'm a decent comedian._

_Anyway, I decided to start this to cope with a problem I have, and all the Batman talk that came with Heath Ledger's death (poor guy) got me re-interested in "Batman Begins", which got me into Jonathan Crane again. I started this with really little idea what it would be about, although now I've got a plan. It starts off on the serious side, but sooner or later, once it gets going, it will have some sort of dark, weird humor to it._

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Desperately Seeking Scarecrow

By Burning Bridges

Chapter One: The Crying Girl

Rain was coming down heavily from a darkened mid-afternoon sky. It's soft, almost tinkling sound drowned out everything else, even in a busy city such as Gotham.

Jonathan Crane was wandering through back alleys where drug dealers normally resided, but today were empty in the cleansing presence of the rain. He had been wandering around after falling off the horse for what felt like ages, half the time completely unaware of what was going on from the effects of the toxin he had gotten a face-full of a couple nights back when he'd had his run-in with Batman… Batman, what a joke.

Fortunately for him, his mental state had finally begun to stabilize. He was still a bit disoriented, and wondered greatly how he'd managed to avoid getting caught this whole time, but he couldn't complain. His life had gone to hell completely in a manner of hours, but at least he was free.

Sort of free.

He glanced irritably at the straitjacket he was still stuck in, suddenly questioning the real usefulness of them even though he'd had plenty of people put in them before. How ironic.

Up ahead there was what seemed to be some sort of public garden. The central structure was simple enough – he could make out wooden beams covered in vines that supported a heavy canopy of English ivy over a maze of plants and whatnot. It seemed safe… But was it?

"I might be able to find something sharp to try getting out of this contraption," he murmured to himself, gazing into the garden wearily, "But what if there's someone around? Hm… I should be fine – only an idiot would go out in weather like this."

He decidedly jogged into the garden and stopped to look around once he was out of the rain. It was surprising how little water actually made it through the ivy ceiling overhead.

He was surrounded by plants of all varieties, many he'd never even seen before, of the most vivid colors. It was almost startling to see that much color in one place… Especially for a man who only ever wore black suits.

Jonathan began to walk about slowly, looking for anything that might be helpful in disengaging the straitjacket he was trapped in. Flower, flower, tree, flower – aha!

He laid eyes on a sharp pike about four feet tall that was jutting out of the ground in one spot – what the hell that was for, he had no idea.

He approached it, elated at the prospect of freedom, when he heard something that caught his attention.

Over the sound of the heavy rain, he could just distinguish a sound like… sobbing?

Curious, he quietly moved towards the source of the sound, and stepped behind an ivy-covered beam beside an L-shaped wall, carefully peering around it.

Sitting a few yards away, was a girl who seemed barely out of her teen years, dressed in a black and white stripe Johnny collar shirt, a short denim skirt and rust-red Converses. Her shoulder-length, dark brunette hair was hanging in her face and getting tangled with her glasses as she sat sobbing heavily beside a patch of lilies.

Although Jonathan Crane was admittedly on the heartless side, part of him was interested in why she was sitting in a drafty garden, in the rain, crying her eyes out. In fact, he was slightly amused by the scene.

He was watching her so intently that he didn't realize she was about to look up.

He ducked behind the beam, causing the ivy to rustle. Hopefully she hadn't seen him. He could still hear her sobbing and felt that perhaps she had been too immersed to notice his presence, although he decided to stay put momentarily just to be sure. No sense in alerting her. He listened, not hearing anything more than sobs and rain falling, figuring he was safe, that is, until she came around the corner.

"Hello?"

He jumped, backing into the stone wall and turning to face her. She seemed as startled as he was, even though tears were still visibly streaming down her face.

She regarded him with a slightly alarmed expression, probably weighing the situation in her mind carefully. "Sir," she addressed him in a breaking tone, "Do you… need help?"

He didn't reply right away, trying to think of what to do.

"W-what happened to you? …Would you like me to get you out of that?"

Her reaction was a tad unexpected. It should have been obvious there was something horribly wrong with this scene, and yet she was acting like it was a normal, everyday occurrence.

"Uh…" he began, not sure what to say. "Yes?"

She wiped her eyes, stifling another sob, and moved closer to him. He stared at her uneasily in response. "Turn around so I can undo the straps."

He hesitated, not certain what to think of her, but gave in to his desire to use his arms again. He turned slowly, keeping an eye on her as she began undoing the straps.

Ah, finally his arms were free again… What a wonderful feeling!

She undid the last strap buckle, and the straitjacket loosened. Jonathan slipped it off, folding it over his arm.

"What happened?" she asked softly, still rubbing her eyes.

He didn't have to tell her the truth. "Err… I got mugged by very disturbing people," he said simply.

"Uh-huh. Right." She shook her head. "You're Dr. Crane from the Arkham asylum. I saw your picture on the news."

She knew who he was and she still helped him? He wasn't used to people being kind to him to begin with, but the notion of someone helping a person they knew was a dangerous criminal – or as Jonathan preferred to think of himself, as 'an entrepreneur' – was rather odd to say the least.

"You don't have to worry. I won't tell anyone."

"You… knew the whole time?"

"Yeah. I had to help you, though… You looked so pathetic."

Jonathan was insulted by that. After running around drugged up for days, anyone would be a complete mess. "You're one to talk," he retorted.

As if on cue, she began sobbing uncontrollably again and turned around, walking back towards the stone bench she'd been seated on before.

He rolled his eyes. He barely even said anything – what was her problem?

Feeling ever so slightly bothered by the result of his comment, he went over to where she was sitting, covering her face with her hands and crying pitifully. "Was it something I said?" he asked indifferently.

She sobbed harder.

As unusual as it was for him, he began to feel a little bad for her. Taking on the gentler tone that he used when talking to people other than his patients, he took a step closer. "What's the matter? Why are you out here, having a fit in the rain?"

"It's…" she barely managed to say.

"You can tell me," he reassured, and she took a deep breath in an attempt to regain her composure.

"It's because of a guy…"

Jonathan wanted to say 'screw you' and walk away at that point, having no interest in people's relationship problems, but she was in such a piteous state he stayed, being one who rather enjoys other people's misery.

"I'm in love with a dear friend of mine, and we were talking about getting involved months ago… But he turned me down. Then we started trying to think of anything that might change his mind… But he turned me down again. I don't know what to do…"

To him, this seemed like typical girl behavior, so he settled for the most clichéd logic he could think of. "There are other fish in the sea."

"In this case, no, there aren't."

He raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"He and I are a lot alike… Almost as if we were separated at birth, or it was some weird joke being played by aliens. He feels like my missing piece… And he's the only person I've ever actually loved." She had nearly stopped crying at this point, trying to dry her eyes with the back of her arm. "The tarot cards told me this would happen, but they also told me it would all work out somehow… I guess I've exhausted everything I can do. It's out of my hands now."

Tarot cards. Jonathan, being a realist and really having very little faith in anything that he couldn't prove through a means of science or logic, didn't feel that tarot cards were anything more than some sort of parlor trick.

She paused, looking wistfully at the rain coming down. "We were meant to meet each other, I know it… There is something more to our friendship than just coincidence."

Quite frankly, this girl was starting to sound crazy. Not to mention she was acting somewhat hysterical – she'd once again broke down into tears, and sounded like she was sobbing so hard that she could barely breathe.

_Hysteric_, he noted mentally, observing her in a thoughtful manner.

"I just want to go live under a rock and never come out again," she managed between sobs.

_Appears greatly discontented_, he added.

"I feel like shooting myself in the foot just to take my mind off of this mess…"

_Faintly sarcastic proposal of self-mutilation_, he concluded to himself with a tinge of interest.

He knew what to do. Jonathan reached out and placed a hand on her arm. "Come on."

She took on as much of an uneasy tone as is possible when crying. "What?"

"Come with me."

"Why sh-should I?"

"Just trust me."

She looked at him for a moment. "He's trying to rape me! He's invading my personal space!" she shouted suddenly, and he quickly covered her mouth with his free hand.

"I want to help you. But first I need you to come with me."

"How do I know you're not going to pull something? You are a wanted felon, after all," she replied once he'd removed his hand.

"You have my word," he replied with a slightly sour note at the thought of having been declared a criminal, "Now come with me."

She slowly got up, not sure how to interpret this whole thing. "Where are we going?"

"My apartment. I can figure out what to do from there."

"You could use a shower, too," she sniffled as they walked out into the rain.

He gave her a dirty look over his shoulder. "If you were restrained for days and needed to empty your bladder, what would you do?"

"Too much information, thanks."

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_This chapter was actually supposed to go until the reached their destination, but I decided to cut it short because I spent a long time working on something else and I need to go to sleep really bad right now. That's okay though, it forms sort of an introduction. Well, that's it for this chapter. If you're reading, leave me a review and let me know what you think!_


	2. In the Apartment

_Another chapter. I was going to update last week, but I really couldn't get my mind around what to write. So here it is, a week late. And rather short. It doesn't add much to the plot as of right now, but the next chapter will – and it should have some humor then._

_I'm still trying to come up with a concept for the description of his apartment – I sort of have an idea, and am still drawing a blank. I'll probably write something random and build on it later… And don't ask me why he has a wardrobe in the main room, which I suppose would be the living room – for whatever reason, I kept picturing it that way._

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Chapter Two: In the Apartment

The rain was coming down heavier now. The streets of Gotham were thankfully empty for the moment, so Jonathan didn't need to worry about anyone seeing him as they walked along in the downpour… Instead, he had to listen to the girl following him sobbing again. Jeez, would she ever stop?

It was slowly beginning to get dark now, the buildings taking on a shadowed and eerie appearance in the gloom. It was chilly, and he was looking forward to being in his nice, comfortable apartment again… That is, if they could even get in there.

"We're almost there," he said, and she didn't respond. Her silence wasn't terribly surprising; after all, she was following a guy with a history of doing some nasty (although necessary, in his mind) things to people to a place she'd never been before.

The silence remained in tact until they came to a building with its entrance blocked off by yellow crime scene tape.

"Is this it?" she asked quietly, looking around.

"Correct," he answered, reaching into his pocket and finding no keys. They must have taken his keys away when they put him in the straitjacket… Great.

He thought for a moment. "Where did I put that spare key?"

He walked up the concrete steps, slipping under the yellow tape that crisscrossed between the handrails, and picked up the mat from in front of the door. Nothing.

"Perhaps…"

He peered underneath the letterbox and there, covered with some black electrical tape, was his spare key. He peeled it off, glancing up and down the street for any signs of people, and unlocked the door.

"Come in quickly, before anyone notices."

She skipped up the stairs, ducking underneath the tape and going inside, as he took one more cautious look about and closed the door behind them.

The only light in the apartment was the dim glow coming through the windows from outside, casting a ghostly quality over the room. The walls appeared to be some murky shade of red in the darkness, and the only sound inside was the floorboards creaking beneath their feet. There were books everywhere, and various forms of sculptures and bric-a-brac. It was rather inviting, but at the same time, ethereal.

The girl studied the room intently, her mind temporarily free from troubles, while Jonathan went into the next room to change his clothes.

She gave a strange look to a statue of a head apparently labeled as an example of phrenology, and went over to a bookshelf, browsing over the titles.

He came back out of the other room, now wearing one of his characteristic black suits, moving past her to the furthest corner of the room to where he had a large wardrobe that substituted for a closet. He opened it and began digging around inside.

"Oh, _Faust_; I love that play," she said, pointing to one of the books.

He took out a needle and a bottle of fluid, filling the syringe with it.

"What are you doing?" she asked, taking on an edgy tone.

"This is a sedative. It will help you calm down," he replied, approaching her.

"Oh no. No, no, no. You're not giving me any drugs." She waved her hands defensively.

"Come now, this will make you feel better."

"No freakin' way."

Jonathan wasn't going to take no for an answer. "What's that?"

He pointed in the direction of the door, and when she looked away, he stuck the needle in her arm and depressed the plunger. She looked back to him, and her eyes narrowed.

"You crafty bastard."

He chuckled good-naturedly, and retrieved a blanket from nearby, handing it to her. "You're shivering. Why don't you wrap yourself up?"

She nodded, wrapping the blanket around herself and taking a seat on the couch.

"You should be warm and dry in no time. Now, because you're fairly troubled, I think it would be in your best interest to stay here tonight for observation."

"You're not going to do anything shifty…?"

"No, I promise."

"Can I call home, and let my mom know I won't be home tonight? I'll tell her I'm staying at my friend's."

"Go ahead." He stood there, wanting to make sure she didn't do anything that might compromise the situation.

She picked up the phone and dialed. "Hi, mom. I'm staying out tonight. Yeah. Okay, see you later. Love you." She hung up, pulling the blanket more tightly around herself.

"Make yourself at home, and get some rest."

He turned to go into the kitchen when she cleared her throat to get his attention.

She looked at him for a moment. "Thanks, Dr. Crane."

"You're welcome…"

"Lynn."

"It's nice to have you as a guest, Lynn. I think we'll get along just fine."

What an odd girl Lynn was, being so pleasant to someone like Jonathan. Although he didn't trust much of anybody, he felt like she might be a little different from other people. Maybe, just maybe, she wouldn't stab him in the back, or make him miserable. But the odds seemed slim.

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_The next chapter should be longer, cover more ground in the plot, and finally introduce some humor to this fic. Hopefully it won't take too long to update._

_In the meantime, please leave a review and let me know what you think!_


	3. I Want to Know What You're Thinking

_WOW, I haven't updated this in so long… Somehow I lost all inspiration for it, then started writing about Superjail, and found that to be the only thing I wanted to do (I need to update that, too xD), then I suddenly started getting requests to revive this, and when someone asked me to do a picture of their fursona as Scarecrow for Halloween, it somehow made me want to revisit this idea. So, here it is, the long-awaited return of this story! I still remember what this chapter was going to be about, so it will be easy to write – and yes, Joker is in it. I had actually planned to write him in, and when people started asking me to do it, it made me very happy lol._

_Anywho, here we go._

Chapter Three: I Want to Know What You're Thinking

Jonathan slowly opened his eyes, an unusual sound having woken him up. He had finally been getting a restful sleep, and it had to be interrupted. He could still hear the sound over the soft pitter-patter of rain on the windows, forming a quiet cacophony of noise – rather irritating noise. He stared at the ceiling, where he could just make out the blurry likeness of rain droplets streaming down the glass, their shadows cutting through the light that shone into the room from a cerulean streetlight across the road, reflected overhead. A few minutes passed, and when it seemed like the sound was insistent on continuing, he gave an annoyed sigh and grabbed his glasses from the nightstand, leaving the comfort of his bed to venture into the den.

Startled by his entrance, Lynn tried to stop sobbing, but couldn't, so she buried her face in the blanket.

"What's wrong?" Jonathan asked, trying to keep a civil tone despite being annoyed about having been woken up so late by her crying.

"I'm sorry if I woke you up, I didn't mean to," she apologized quickly, and he seated himself next to her on the couch.

"Can't sleep?"

"I tried, I really did. I just couldn't get him out of my head."

"I see." He thought this girl was rather hopeless.

"I'll be quiet, I swear. Just don't hurt me."

"Now why would I do that?" he asked, trying to sound sympathetic. Granted, he hadn't entertained any thoughts of harming her, but the idea did amuse him slightly.

"Well, you are a criminal… And I've heard about your exploits…"

He knew her being even remotely distrustful of him could be a problem… but at the same time he kind of liked the feeling of knowing he had that affect on her. He uncrossed his arms, taking on a more somber tone, and reached a hand out to place it on her shoulder.

"Listen to me. You don't have to be afraid of me. I have no desire to hurt you. I'd like to help you, you just need to trust me."

She lifted her head just enough to glance at him over the blanket. "How are you going to help me? I'm a pretty unpromising cause."

_No kidding, _he thought to himself snidely. But this girl was pitiable enough that he felt compelled to do something… even if, in the end, it would give way to darker motives.

"We'll figure that out together. For the time being, you should really get some rest. I can stay with you for a little while, if that would make you feel better."

Unexpectedly, Lynn leaned forward, wrapping her arms around him in a hug. Jonathan was fully taken aback, rather bewildered and not sure how to react to this. He really had no memories of ever being embraced, let alone like this.

"Considering what you've done, you have a very kind side to you."

He was uncomfortable with this amount of physical contact, but he allowed her to continue since it seemed to calm her. That is, until the embrace lasted for what seemed like an hour. Now Jonathan had to think of an excuse to get up.

"Uh… Would you like me to read to you? Maybe that would help you go to sleep."

"Except for the fact that it would make me feel like a kid, yes, that'd be nice," she replied, letting go of him, much to Jonathan's relief.

He went over to the bookshelf and picked up a volume of poetry by W.H. Auden, figuring his brand of creepy worldviews might get her mind off of this whole thing. He seated himself, flipping through some pages until he found a good place to start, and spoke in a soft, almost whispering voice.

"Get there if you can and see the land you once were proud to own, though the roads have almost vanished and the expresses never run… Power-stations locked, deserted, since they drew the boiler fires; pylons falling or subsiding, trailing dead high-tension wires; head gears gaunt on grass-grown pit-banks, seams abandoned years ago; drop a stone and listen for its splash in flooded dark below…"

"That's just a bit depressing, don't you think?" Lynn asked.

Jonathan glanced at her with an unimpressed expression and moved on. "Now the ragged vagrants creep into crooked holes to sleep…"

Lynn laughed. "That was aimed at me, wasn't it?"

"Maybe. Now just try to relax, okay?" Jonathan said in a polite, but authoritative tone.

"Yes, sir," she replied.

_This one will be right up her alley_, he thought to himself after thumbing a few pages. "The soldier loves his rifle, the scholar loves his books, the farmer loves his horses, the film star loves her looks. There's love the whole world over, wherever you may be; some lose their rest for gay Mae West, but you're my cup of tea… There are patients in asylums who think that they're a tree. I had an aunt who loved a plant, but you're my cup of tea."

He quickly glanced over at her again before going on, and she had her eyes closed, a faint smile on her face as she listened intently.

"No one has seen you. None can say 'Of late, here – you can see the marks – they lay in wait'. But in my thought tonight you seem forms which I saw once in a dream…"

He continued reading for a time, until he had gotten about a third of the way through the book, and he was starting to yawn every few seconds. "And I find nothing sensible to do, but, shivering, look towards the north and you."

He yawned, taking a look in Lynn's direction to see that, during the course of his reading, Lynn had fallen asleep finally… with her head resting against his shoulder.

Jonathan rolled his eyes. "Oh, great."

He knew if he attempted to reposition her that she'd probably wake up, so he crossed his arms, rather annoyed, and resigned himself to staring at the wall with the hopes that she'd eventually shift to the other side, until he finally dozed off himself.

"Good morning from channel 2 news; it's 9:30am and our top story this morning is still the developing story that broke three days ago."

Jonathan blinked, bright light streaming into the room from a nearby window making it hard to focus his eyes. He felt Lynn shift her weight slightly next to him, and he looked over to her, just being able to tell with his eyes almost closed that she was watching the news with her legs crossed, bobbing her one foot up and down idly. Part of him was surprised that he'd made it all the way to mid-morning without being woken up again by Lynn during the night.

"Morning," she said in a somewhat shy tone, "I hope I didn't wake you up again."

He shook his head, still waiting for his eyes to adjust.

"I also hope you don't mind that I turned on the news. I didn't want to seem rude, but it was really boring sitting here staring at the floor."

"Don't worry about it." This girl was almost self-consciously polite – maybe because she was afraid of him. He liked that quality; as long as she wasn't too headstrong, he'd have no problems getting along with her. "Are you hungry?" he posed the idle question.

"Not particularly," she said simply.

He turned his attention to the news, which she was watching intently, only mildly aware of his presence beside her.

"Five of the escaped Arkham Asylum patients have been recovered, but many more are still at large, including ex-doctor Jonathan Crane. They are presumed dangerous, and should not be approached if spotted."

"Too late for that," Lynn said, smiling at Jonathan and laughing nervously.

_Oh, ha ha_, Jonathan thought, rolling his eyes.

"I'm sorry, I'm probably making you uncomfortable watching this."

"Not at all," he sighed, "What's done is done. There's no going back now."

There was a moment of silence, Lynn spoke, "I want to thank you, for everything. You didn't have to do anything for me, but you took me in and you've been more than kind."

He didn't really know what to say, having admittedly never been the one who really did much of anything for other people. And now he sat here, faced with a girl who spoke with genuine gratitude – what an unusual feeling.

"You're welcome," he replied a bit awkwardly.

"I owe you."

He just barely smirked to himself, feeling reasonably self-satisfied. Perhaps things weren't as bad as they had seemed before. Ever since he'd had his position as doctor stripped from him, he'd greatly missed the power he used to have over other people. But maybe now he could have that again… He had within his possession a girl that had a sense of debt to him and was reasonably compliant. He didn't know quite yet how he would use this control, but he knew one thing for sure: this was the start of something good.

"Hm," Lynn sighed downheartedly, "I wonder what he's doing right now."

But first Jonathan would have to get her mind off of that boy.

He was tempted to make a snarky comment in response to her query, but he refrained, knowing that might send her into another hyper-emotional state. He looked around for any ideas as to how he could preoccupy her, and his gaze came to rest on the corner wall, where a print of Salvador Dali's _The Persistence of Memory _hung.

"Do you like art?" he blurted out, and she seemed taken aback at the sudden random question.

"Uh, yeah."

"Would you be interested in seeing an art exhibit with me?"

She cocked her head slightly. "Yeah, sure. But, uh, how are you going to go anywhere when… you know…"

"Oh, I have an idea," he said, getting up and leaving the room for a bit.

When he returned, Lynn took one look at him and started giggling. He had wrapped some sheets around himself, forming a sort of burka that would completely hide his identity, and, apparently, make Lynn laugh.

"No offense, but you look like an Islamic drag queen," she said, graciously trying to keep from laughing any further.

Jonathan just gave her a dismissive wave of his hand. "At least no one will know it's me."

"You've got a point."

"Come on, we should go now, before a crowd develops. We'll have to take a taxi there; I'll tell you where to instruct the driver to take us, since the driver might find a man in a burka rather suspicious."

"Okay, let's do it," she said, seemingly hesitant, but trusting him.

They slipped outside, unnoticed, through a fire exit in the back that Jonathan had never thought would have any use, making sure to slightly jar the door open so they wouldn't have to use the front door later. After hailing a taxi, and getting some strange looks from the driver, it was only a matter of minutes before they were at the gallery.

The gallery was expansive, a veritable maze of glass walls plastered with paintings and white marble floors. They appeared to be the only ones there, their footsteps echoing ethereally as they wandered around.

"I want to try a psychiatric exercise with you," he said suddenly, quickly looking around to make sure no one was in earshot so he didn't have to whisper, "To help me gauge the exact nature of your mindset, that is."

"Uh, you couldn't just ask me what my mindset is?" she asked.

"We don't do it that way," he said, slightly amused.

"I'm not crazy, you know," she said with some minor defensiveness.

"No need to be insecure," he reassured her, "This is just a test. Nothing to worry about."

"I know, I'm just… wary of therapists. They seem to make something out of nothing a lot of the time… No offense."

"None taken." Her view of therapists was entertaining to him.

"So, uh, what exactly did you want to do?"

"Take a look at some of these paintings. Tell me what they make you think of, or feel."

She silently studied a painting of lilies, taking the time to consider the fine details. "Love."

He nodded wordlessly, mentally noting the way she carried herself as she looked over each piece.

Farmland. "Rebirth."

Trees in fall. "Sadness."

She shook her head. "Can we do this some other time? I'm kind of distracted."

"That's alright, you did well," he said, trying to soothe her. "Let's just look around a bit more."

They continued to wander around for a bit, looking at Impressionist paintings, some of which Lynn found funny.

When they were finally ready to leave, they went outside and hailed a taxi, not expecting what was about to happen.

They were just about to get in when a blaring alarm went off across the street, at a bank.

"Huh, I wonder what's going on over there," Lynn said.

"Could be a crime in progress. Let's get out of here," Jonathan replied, paying it little mind.

They climbed into the taxi, and the driver was leaning forward, watching the bank with great interest. "I think there's a robbery going on over there."

"Really?" Lynn said, and Jonathan cleared his throat. "Oh, um, we need to go to - "

Before she could finish, a man who looked like John Wayne Gacy's dream date, with his clown-like makeup job, came running out of the bank and across the road. They watched in disbelief, Jonathan even removing his veil so he could see the individual better. At this point, the man came up to the taxi, carrying a sack.

The pair just stared without a sound as the clown guy pulled the driver out and jumped in before hitting the gas. He seemed confident enough that the police weren't going to find him, considering he drove off at normal speed. He suddenly turned around and smiled at them creepily.

"Hellooooo," he said, and they just stared at him. "What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?"

He laughed, suddenly making a hard turn and sending them both sliding into each other roughly.

He turned to face them again, totally not paying attention to the road. "Dr. Crane, what are you doing out and about?"

Jonathan raised an eyebrow. "Do I _know_ you?"

"Oh, come on you remember little old me, don't you?"

He suddenly realized who he was talking to. "You…"

"You know this guy?" Lynn asked incredulously.

"Call me Joker," the clown guy said with a chuckle. "So, where were you two going?"

"Uh… Back to his apartment," Lynn replied.

"Great, let's go!"

_LOL since this reference is probably lost on some people (unless you were born in the 80's or like music that samples Spock's voice xD), the title of this chapter is the name of Information Society's only hit song; I used that since Jonathan is going to start analyzing her a lot now xD._

_I know it seems random, but I had to throw in some W.H. Auden – I found some quotes I'd written down from some of my favorite of his work for something, and just felt like using it. He is my favorite poet after all; maybe because he and I think alike xD. I especially wanted to use that one about love, because the 'patients in asylums' part just works for this xDDDDD_

_Yes, the art gallery idea was also rather random, but it was the only idea I had for how'd they'd meet Joker (also random lolol). The next chapter will be the start of a very strange friendship between the three of them – which will lead to some weird adventures lol._

_Hope you enjoyed this chapter – I'll be posting the next one soon! Let me know what you think~_


	4. High on Life

_Okay, new chapter! And a long one, at that. It would've actually been even longer, but I cut it short lol. This chapter begins to delve into the dynamic between the three of them, what they're doing, and how Lynn fits into the picture – of all the chapters so far, this one covers the most ground. And it sets up the main part of the plot further._

_I've decided to write the Joker as I remember him best, being portrayed, at one point in time, as more of a jokester than a psychotic murderer, although at times the two versions will come together. It makes for a more interesting story lol._

Chapter Four: High on Life

"What do you mean, 'let's go'? I didn't invite you over," Jonathan said, clearly piqued.

"Aww, that's too bad, because _I'm_ driving the car," Joker replied, "You do want to go home, right? I could always take you somewhere else instead, like to the police station."

"What kind of backwards logic is that?" he snapped, "I'm not telling you where I live."

"I'm driving, I'll kill us," Joker said snarkily.

Lynn gave Jonathan a pleading look. "Is it really worth all the trouble not to just let him come along?"

He directed his glare towards her, and she immediately looked away.

"Sorry, I didn't mean any disrespect by that," she apologized uneasily.

He snorted huffily, crossing his arms. "Fine. You can come to my apartment. But you had better not touch anything, or cause any trouble."

"You're no fun," Joker teased, and Jonathan bitterly gave him directions.

The car was eerily silent the rest of the way there, until Jonathan spoke up. "It's that building right there, but don't pull up in front of it."

"No duh, stupid. Wouldn't it be suspicious if a cab pulled up outside a building closed off by the police?"

Jonathan rolled his eyes and sighed gruffly. He really wanted to punch this bastard out right now.

Joker pulled the cab over a little ways down the street, and they stepped out, making sure no one was around to see them. Thankfully this street was mostly inhabited by people who worked late hours.

"What are you going to do with this thing? It can't stay here."

Joker smiled. "It's simple." He reached into the cab, making sure to grab his sack of cash before releasing the parking brake and giving the front of the car a good shove. It began rolling down the hill. "Done and done."

Jonathan ran a hand down his face when the car started a domino effect on other cars lining the street. "Let's just go inside already."

They entered the building through the fire exit, no one saying a word until the door closed behind them.

"I hope you don't mind if I ask, Joker… Why did you rob a bank?" Lynn questioned inquisitively.

"Oh, that? I needed to raise money for a 'project' I'm working on." He sounded amused at the thought. He paused to glance at a framed Rorschach image that looked like nothing in particular, picking it up to study it better.

"Hey! I said no touching!" Jonathan snapped, and he set it back down.

"Chill, Dr. Bring-Down."

"In my home, at least, I demand you show me the proper respect!"

Lynn stepped in before a fight could break out. "Please, gentlemen, we should keep the volume down, shouldn't we?"

"You're quite right, Lynn," Jonathan replied, giving Joker a dirty look, "I'm not going to tolerate any of your obnoxious behavior, though."

"Uh-huh," Joker answered apathetically, then attempting to make conversation, "So, Lynn, is it? How do you fit into this whole picture? I highly doubt you're related to this guy."

"Uh, no, actually he brought me here to help me out."

"Oh? What's wrong? Are you mental?"

"No," Lynn said, sounding slightly offended, "The love of my life was too insecure to commit to a relationship, among other things."

"Harsh," he said, seemingly indifferent. "You should get revenge."

"Revenge?"

"Sure, a little revenge always makes people feel better – it'll put a smile on your face." He smiled at her, and she just shook her head.

"I couldn't do that to him…" She uncomfortably changed the subject, turning her attention to Jonathan. "Um… I've been meaning to ask… How long were you going to have me stay here?" His partly suspicious, partly annoyed expression apparently unnerved her, because suddenly she became noticeably flustered, her voice quavering a bit. "I wasn't implying that I want to leave or anything, I just wanted to know, because I need to make arrangements – if that's okay with you, I mean."

He thought for a moment. He really hadn't made any definitive plans yet, but he knew he wasn't considering letting her take off; he just needed an excuse to explain that plan. "Well, I'd say indefinitely. Given your emotional state, I'd like to keep you under observation."

"Alright." He couldn't tell for sure how she felt about that, but she appeared to be resigned to the idea. She struck up the nerve to inquire about her other concerns. "Can I… do you think… still go to my volunteer job? I'm a candystriper at the hospital… and I think my boss might get pretty pissed off if I don't come in for an extended period of time."

"I don't see why not," he said, trying not to seem overly cautious about the idea. "I have a few guidelines, though, considering the situation."

"I understand," she agreed over-enthusiastically. It was obvious she was fairly nervous. "And, uh… Could I give my mother a call later? To let her know I'll be away for a while?"

"Of course. If you like, I can take you home so you can pick up some things."

"Thank you," she said, relieved, taking a seat on the couch with a small laugh, "It'll be a lot easier getting to the hospital if I have my car."

"We can discuss it more later. Right now, you should just relax, and try to get your mind off things."

She nodded, rubbing her forehead tiredly.

"Lynn, would you like something to eat? It's been, at least, since last night."

"No thanks, I haven't really had an appetite since… Well, you know."

"You should at least have some fluids. I'll make you something to drink."

"But - "She went to protest, but he was one step ahead of her.

"Uh-uh-uh," he wagged a finger at her. "I insist."

She smiled and nodded, and he made his way into the kitchen, shortly followed by Joker.

"Whoo, you got her whipped. She's terrified of you," he said, clearly entertained.

"What do you know about it?" Jonathan snapped at him, only briefly glancing at him out of the corner of his eye as he put two cups of tea to steep.

"It's not hard to see that she's afraid of getting on your bad side – and to top it off, she's eager to please you. I daresay you plan on making her your slave."

"That's ridiculous," he scoffed, "I'm trying to help her."

"You don't help people. You torture them," Joker chuckled, "Admit it, you just want someone around you can control."

The accuracy of this statement hit a bit too close to home for Jonathan. "Don't judge me," she said in a dangerous tone.

"I don't judge. I just state the truth," he replied nonchalantly, "She seems like a sweet girl; it's a shame what you're going to do to her."

Jonathan was determined not to let Joker get a rise out of him. "Just mind your own business," he warned, leaving the kitchen to go talk to Lynn momentarily.

Sure the coast was clear, Joker pulled a packet of some powdered substance from his pocket and poured some into each of the two cups, mixing it in. He knew the perfect way to liven up this party…

"Lynn, I want to talk to you for a minute," Jonathan said, sitting down next to her, "I've noticed you appear very… anxious… when you're talking to me. Do I frighten you?"

"What? No, no," she said defensively, trying to act calm.

"I can tell you're lying." She avoided looking at him. "What is it about me that bothers you?"

"It's not _you_," she said, sounding like she was barely managing to control her nervous response, "It's just… what I've heard… I'm sorry - "

"Don't apologize," he said gently, "I understand. Believe me when I say I won't hurt you, Lynn. You obviously trust me a least a little if you willingly came here with me, so why not trust me on this?"

"You're right, you are. I just need time to adjust to this whole thing. I trust you, really."

He pat her on the shoulder. "Good girl."

He got up to go retrieve the tea, a smile spreading across his face. Secretly, he was quite content with the knowledge she was afraid of him, because it gave him power, but he didn't want to frighten her away completely, either. To control others, you had to know when to push and when to withdraw, otherwise you wouldn't have influence for long.

When he entered the kitchen, Joker was leaning against the counter idly, acting like he wasn't doing anything. Jonathan didn't like that at all.

"What are you doing?" he asked acerbically.

Joker shrugged. "Nothin'."

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't mill around the rooms of my house alone, like a stalker."

"Why? I'm not doing anything."

"Get out of my kitchen," he ordered.

"Whatever."

Jonathan found himself questioning why of all people he had to get stuck with him as a house guest… He wanted to get rid of him, but watching Lynn interact with him now, he didn't know how he would.

He was sitting beside her on the couch, making her laugh, and Jonathan could see she had a soft spot for the irritating bastard. Oh well, tomorrow would be another day.

"Tea time," Jonathan said, coming in and handing her the bone china teacup carefully.

"Thank you," she said graciously, taking a sip. "Mmm, chamomile."

Joker watched them drink intently, a slight smirk on his face. It wouldn't be long now.

"Alright," Jonathan said, "About going to work; I only have a few ground rules. The main one is a no-brainer – don't tell anyone about this."

"Gotcha," Lynn replied.

"Furthermore, be as inconspicuous as possible when coming and going. Use the back door anytime people could be around, so no one will see you. Park your car somewhere a little away from the apartment, so no one gets suspicious. You get the picture."

"Easy enough."

"Next, no secrets. I need to know what's going on in your life, from a therapist's standpoint."

This made Joker snigger to himself.

"Makes sense."

"Ah, and one more thing. You might feel I'm overstepping my boundaries on this one, but, if possible, could you let me know before you go anywhere other than work? So I can keep tabs on your location, in case something comes up." He was a little concerned that she might reject the idea, but she concurred entirely.

"I understand, and I can totally do that."

"Good, good, then everything should run smoothly."

They continued to drink their tea, occasionally making casual conversation about random things, the topics beginning to get a bit stranger by the moment. Jonathan noticed he was starting to feel rather odd… a strange sensation had come over him; sort of a tingly, prickliness, accompanied by a relative haziness of his cognizance, and a profound sense of self-assurance. He found himself acting different than he normally would, laughing about weird things… it was a little alarming, but he kind of liked it.

"How are you feeling?" Joker asked with a smile.

Lynn laughed, "I'm feeling great right now. I feel like… I feel like doing something."

"Like what?"

"Going out somewhere?" Jonathan suggested.

"Yeah, that's exactly what I feel like doing! We should do that. What do you think, Joker, should we go out somewhere?"

"Why not?"

"Let's go, let's all go out together!"

"Just us girls, yeah!" Joker laughed, getting to his feet to lead them out.

Joker took them out of the city for the night, to a town nearby where they were less likely to recognized, and they toured the local scene for a while, hitting some restaurants and clubs, before they ultimately ended up in a karaoke bar.

All in all, Joker thought getting them high was doing them a huge favor – for one, Lynn was actually happy, and for two, Dr. Crane was actually acting like a normal human being for once. The evening had been pretty unusual and entertaining so far, and it was only about to get more so… Because shortly after arriving at the karaoke bar, Joker found himself on stage singing backup with Lynn for Crane.

"Oh, this is a good one," he told the audience, "Most of you will remember this song."

When the catchy 80's pop song started, he began to move along with it, snapping his fingers to the tune. "Jenny, Jenny, who can I turn to? You give me something I can hold on to. I know you think I'm like the others before who saw your name and number on the wall. Come on, sing with me!"

People in the audience started joining in.

"Jenny, I got your number, I need to make you mine. Jenny, don't change your number, 867-5309 - "

"867-5309," the audience sang along.

Yes, indeed, Joker was pleased with his decision to do this. Not only was it very amusing, but it was pretty fun, too, and it had been a while since he'd had any good old fashioned fun that didn't somehow involve crime.

"I got it, I got it, got it, I got your number on the wall. I got it, I got it, got it, for a good time, for a good time call. Jenny, don't change your number, I need to make you mine. Jenny, I called your number. 867-5309, 867-5309…"

It was around 4am when Joker helped the two find their way back into Crane's apartment, guiding the pair, who were so out of it they were practically sleepwalking at this point, over to the sofa. Once they were seated comfortably, and everything was in order, he tipped an imaginary hat to them.

"Nighty-night."

The next morning…

Jonathan blinked once, the sun nearly blinding him. Obviously morning had arrived, but where had the evening gone? His memory of the night before was a bit… foggy, at best. Trying to remember what had gone on, brief glimpses of memories came to him, but not enough for him to make any sense of. He glanced around the room stiffly noticing Lynn sleeping peacefully next to him. What the hell had happened?

He tried to replay the part of the night he remembered in his head, hoping it would trigger the rest, but nothing. Except…

Lynn stirred beside him, making him jump, to which he shook his head irritably. Even if no one was around to see it, being startled by something so insignificant wasn't terribly flattering even in the recesses of his own mind.

To top it off, he'd lost his train of thought now, and that really annoyed him. He'd just been on the verge of remembering something, and now it was gone.

Lynn stretched, yawning. "Oh, my head hurts… What the hell?" Jonathan glanced over at her, and she looked at him funny. "What did we do last night?"

"Can't remember, either?" he said, nodding slightly.

"I can help you out with that," came Joker's voice as he entered the room from somewhere in the back of the apartment.

"What do you mean?" Jonathan immediately snapped at him, feeling he had something to do with this. "What did you do?"

"Well, you're fast to point the finger, aren't ya?" Joker chuckled at him. "I thought you two could use some loosening up last night, so I slipped you both something special."

"What?" he demanded, and Joker just shrugged indifferently.

"Just my own unique mixture of different things, that makes people less inhibited and more pliable. It worked well, too, because you guys were the life of the party last night. We hit the town, Crane sang karaoke - "

Jonathan suddenly flinched, the memory coming back to him. "Ah, yes, I recall that now," he grumbled, his tenor souring.

"Aw, don't be that way," he said good-naturedly, "The crowd loved you."

"That's right…" Lynn said in realization, "I remember you singing some Ace of Base…"

"And Tommy Tutone," Joker added with a laugh.

"And then we came back here, and when we were alone, you were telling me some things," she said carefully, observing Jonathan with some hesitation.

Now Jonathan remembered more of the night. He vaguely recollected talking to her once Joker had left, telling her things about himself… but he couldn't think of what. He was really wishing now that he could go hide under a rock somewhere. He wanted to kill Joker right here and now, but he knew that wasn't a wise idea, taking into account that they were hiding out in his apartment, which, as far as his neighbors knew, was supposed to be empty, and he didn't want to execute someone Lynn seemed to have a fondness for… or mess up his place, for that matter.

"You should be thankful I'm not butchering you right now, you intolerable screwball," he grumbled.

Joker laughed, "I was just trying to help you unwind. We had fun, didn't we?"

Seemingly sensing that he was about to murder Joker if he didn't leave straight away, Lynn tried to take control of the situation. "Do you think you could give us a moment to talk? We can always discuss this later."

"Yes, go away," Jonathan added miserably.

Joker gave Lynn an understanding nod, and excused himself from the room without another word.

Now they were finally alone. Jonathan could tell Lynn was surveying him warily as he took deep breaths, leaning forward dejectedly with his face hidden in his hands. When the lack of conversation got to be too much, he finally spoke, his voice noticeably riled, even though he tried to sound civil towards her.

"I'm going to _kill_ that bastard."

He could hear her trepidation coming through clearly as she made a failing attempt to compose herself. "Please, don't take this whole thing the wrong way… I know he's mischievous, but he doesn't mean anything by it."

"I really, really do not know what you see in him."

She was quiet for a moment, considering her words carefully. "…The same thing I see in you… A decent person deep down, who just does his own thing."

He looked up, not necessarily meaning to glare at her, and she dropped her gaze to the floor.

"If you have something to say, say it," he said bluntly, not expecting a response.

She was silent for a moment, before daring to meet his stare again. "I hate to say anything, since you probably don't remember… But last night, you told me some things about your life," she said quietly, and he could tell she was gauging his reaction. "I don't remember everything you told me, but I know enough to say…"

She paused, and he waited almost uneasily for the next part, looking at her beseechingly.

"… You're not alone."

They exchanged a long look, and although no words passed between them, it was understood what she meant.

"I don't mean to say I know exactly how you feel or what you've been through; people hate it when others tell them that… What I do mean is… I can kinda relate."

He didn't reply, just studied her silently, not really sure what he'd say if he said anything at all.

"May I tell you something?" she questioned softly, and he just barely nodded. "I might seem well-adjusted, but I've been around the block more than once…"

She then proceeded to tell him about her life, the highs and lows, how people treated her, her family and how she had come to be who she is. There were happy moments and sad moments, and moments where each pause she took told a story in of itself. Although he was never a terribly sympathetic kind of person, he felt a strange welling up of different emotions for this girl. It was so foreign to him, he didn't know how to interpret it. But he knew one thing for sure; despite the fact he was mortified that he'd told her about his life, he was starting to feel a bit of a bond to her… Not only did she seem to accept him for who he really was, but she understood him, and that was a quality he had yet to find in anyone he'd met.

Despite that, the fact she knew about his past didn't thrill him; the thought of her feeling sorry for him made him sick to his stomach. Granted, there had been times in his life he had wished that someone would commiserate with him, but this wasn't one of those times.

They sat in silence after she finished talking, Jonathan considering the possibility of asking her what she knew and refraining from doing so, and Lynn staring at the floor in thought.

"Um, you were going to take me over to my place to get my stuff last night, weren't you?" Lynn asked awkwardly, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, yeah, I was. Do you want to do that now?"

"Sure," she answered.

Jonathan was relieved. He couldn't stand this uncomfortable silence anymore.

"My place isn't far from here," she explained, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "We should be fine walking there if we stick to the system of alleyways. The city might be pretty overrun with crime, but I've never run into any trouble doing that."

Jonathan wasn't really concerned about the scum that tended to lurk around in alleys, but that was good to know, anyway.

The two left the apartment through the back door, traveling along the empty alleys unseen, until they came to a nice little corner of the neighborhood, seemingly untouched by the crime that plagued the rest of Gotham. In front of an old turn-of-the-century red apartment building, was parked a sleek black muscle car, a surviving relic of the 70's with a thin red line running down each side that matched the color of the leather interior.

"Here we are," she said. "If you like, you can wait in the car while I get my stuff and explain to mom that I'll be staying nearby."

"That would be fine. It would be safer than risking being seen in the open by either someone passing or one of the building tenants."

"I'll be out as soon as possible," she said, digging the keys out of her pocket and handing them to him. "Feel free to start 'err up."

She jogged up to the door of the building, disappearing into the dark foyer. Jonathan glanced around at his surroundings, making sure no one noticed him unlocking the car from the passenger side, and got in. After settling in, he reached over and put the key in the ignition, flinching slightly when the radio came on loudly at startup. He turned it down, and went back to looking around.

This section of the city was quite lovely; quiet, leisurely, welcoming. He was surprised such a place could exist in Gotham, which led him to question whether Ra's Al Ghul would have wanted to destroy the city as much if he had seen this particular area… then again, what ever became of Ra's Al Ghul?

Jonathan shook his head, dismissing the thought and focused his attention on the street, where kids were playing some kind of game, without a care in the world. Somehow it made sense that a benevolent woman such as Lynn would live here.

She opened the back door of the car suddenly, throwing a couple of bags in the back and coming around to the driver side.

"Okay, everything's set. My mom had no qualms with me staying 'with a friend' for a while – she says 'hi', by the way," she chuckled, getting in the car. "She was telling me how the library got some books in about Native American mythology – my weakness. I was wondering if I might stop by there?"

"Alright," he answered with a slight smile, "But drop me off first."

She drove back to the apartment, parking the car in an alley just around the corner, and grabbing her bags out of the back. "I'll just get set up first, before I go back out."

When they entered the apartment, Lynn paused by the door, holding her bags up. "Where should I put these?"

"In the bedroom," he answered simply. "You'll be sleeping in there with me from now on. I have an old air mattress you can use." He didn't mind her sleeping on the couch, but this way he could keep an eye on her better. And he felt it would help reinforce her subservience – after all, the alpha dog always slept at a higher elevation than the rest of the pack.

"Ah, cool," she answered, taking her bags into his room. "I'm going to take a moment to sort a couple things out. I'll let you know when I'm about to leave."

Jonathan entered the living room, finding Joker sitting on his couch, watching a PBS program on the Inquisition. "What are you doing here when we were out?"

"What does it look like? Hanging out," Joker replied, not bothering to look up.

He sat down on the opposite end of the couch, and they sat in complete silence for a moment.

"You said you needed the money you stole for a 'project'. Exactly what is it you're planning?" he asked, and the two of them continued to look straight ahead.

"Nothing much," he answered modestly, "I was just going to take over the city, and then go from there."

He wasn't impressed. "How?"

"You'll see." He smiled.

Still not impressed. "Right. I think you'd need a lot of help to come even remotely close to pulling that off."

"Oh? Do you want to help me then?"

"I wouldn't word it quite that way. But I think working together might be beneficial, to both of us."

He nodded in agreement. "Valid point. Any ideas?"

"Well," Jonathan said, thinking back on his earlier escapade. "If we combined my fear toxin and your 'special mixture of things', we might be able to create something to use on the citizens of Gotham to make them more… compliant… in our efforts to take over."

"I like it," Joker said. "You're a clever one, Crane."

"I don't mean to interrupt," Lynn suddenly said from just behind them, coming to stand beside the couch, "But I overheard your conversation. And if it's alright, I'd like to join you."

"I'm all for it," Joker said agreeably.

Hearing Lynn say that left Jonathan speechless. He thought of all people she'd be the least likely to ever want to willingly break the law. "Are you sure?" he finally asked, his surprise evident in his voice.

"You're trying to help me, now let me help you. It's the least I could do."

He knew that there had to be more to her reason than that, but he didn't press her for answers. Frankly, he was secretly elated that she was going along with this voluntarily. "If you really want to, then I'll give you my approval."

"I won't let you down," she said with a smirk. "I'm gonna head out now."

"Hey," Joker called after her, "Meet me by the southeast entrance of the park in an hour – there's someplace I want to take you."

"Okie dokie," she called back just before allowing the door to close behind her.

"Well," Jonathan said, "That was unexpected."

"You were going to force her to do your bidding eventually, anyway, so this saves you some time. Just remember to use a light touch or she might decide to revolt," Joker replied with a laugh, getting up.

He wanted to tell him to drop the slavery thing, but didn't feel up to arguing with him right now. "Where are you going?"

"I got somewhere to be. But don't worry, I'll be back." He smiled snarkily.

"That's exactly what I _am_ worried about."

Meanwhile…

Lynn had decided to walk over to the library, since it was nice and warm this afternoon. She was feeling fairly good and strangely satisfied, even though she had a lot on her mind. She wove her way through the masses that traversed the sidewalk, coming to a stop at the corner, where she waited for the traffic to stop.

"Lynn!" she heard a familiar voice call out to her, and she turned to see a certain someone she hadn't talked to since the other day.

"Gabriel," she said with a frown. She loved seeing him, but at the same time, the pain was still fresh in her mind.

"Hey," he said, coming up. "When your mom said you hadn't been home, I started to wonder if you were okay."

"Yeah, everything's fine. What, did you think I was going to commit suicide?"

"No, no," he said, and she knew that was exactly what he had been thinking all along. "I was just worried after the way you left in such a hurry."

Lynn resisted the temptation to retort. "Anyway, how have you been? Did you get hit with a 2x4 or something?" she asked, pointing to some bruises on his face. He worked in construction, so she was used to seeing him regularly sporting random injuries.

"Oh, that? No, the other night I got jumped."

"Jumped?" she sounded horrified.

"I was passing the all-nighter bar on my way home, and this biker started bugging me for money. I guess calling him 'fuckface' was a bad idea," he laughed. "The bastard slammed me into the wall, face-first, and stole $300 from me."

"Oh my God," she said, barely able to hide her concern for him, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," he answered dismissively.

"Did you go to the police?"

"Yeah, they told me they were looking for him, but they haven't had any luck yet. Either he's hiding out somewhere, or everybody's covering for him."

"What did he look like?"

"Why?" He raised an eyebrow.

"You know, so I can keep an eye out for him," she explained, trying to sound believable.

"Well… He was a big guy, kind of Grizzly Adams-looking, built like Mr. Universe on steroids, long, wavy hair, tattoos of wolves and biker stuff…"

"If I see anyone suspicious, I'll call the cops," she said, running a hand down his arm reassuringly.

He smiled at her warmly, the way he always did. "Thanks."

She glimpsed the light changing again out of the corner of her eye, suddenly remembering where she was going. "Oh, crap, I gotta hurry up, I'm supposed to meet someone soon. Um, I gotta go, okay? But I'll talk to you soon!"

Without waiting another second, she bolted across the street just before the light could change again.

"Let's hang out sometime soon!" Gabriel shouted to her, and she waved goodbye to him with one hand, as she re-entered the crowd on the other side of the street. He just stood there and watched her walk off.

Lynn sighed to herself, biting her lower lip. Her good mood was officially over.

_LOL Joker is such a goofball in this._

_Okay, just so this doesn't confuse anybody, I decided to not go into Lynn's past for one major reason – to make her more relatable. That's pretty much how I write everything with OCs in it, and it seems to work, because they're well-liked lol. Plus, because her past is open to interpretation, it could lead to pretty much anything in the plot. You can imagine her past anyway you like; the only real detail I'd go into is that she has, at some point, been treated in a way that made her feel alienated from others, and she has a lot of pent-up rage stemming from some unidentified factor._

_Yes, see, the plot is finally coming together now! They've got a scheme going, and from here it's only going to get bigger and bolder lol. And yes, the scene with Gabriel (Lynn's love interest, in case you didn't figure that out xD) actually is leading up to something. It would have been in this chapter, but like I said, I cut it short lol._

_Well, new chapter should be up soon, as long as I don't get too caught up in the weird comic-based story I'm also working on xDD. Hope you enjoyed this one! Until next time, leave me some feedback and let me know what ya think! :3 _


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